Back at the hilltop villa, Zachary wanted to carry Serenity out of the car.“I’ll get out by myself. I don’t need you to carry me. Don’t touch me!”Serenity refused to let him carry her and did not want to let him touch her again.After pushing him away, she got out of the car by herself.Brandt came out of the house.He was surprised to see Serenity and instinctively called out, “Mrs. York.”Serenity said coldly, “Don’t call me Mrs. York. I’m not Mrs. York. The great Mr. York is out of my league!”Her words were all barbed and sarcastic.She was really pissed off.She turned her head and said to Zachary, “Didn’t you say you lived alone? Lying is second nature to you, isn’t it? You don’t even need to come up with a script. You lie as easily as you breathe.”His acting skills were too great, and she was not sharp enough to see through him.She was a fool.Just because she saw that he drove an MPV worth a few hundred thousand and lived in a local neighborhood instead of a vil
Serenity stood up and went into the kitchen.When Zachary came in from outside, he happened to see her figure in the kitchen.He was silent.Serenity did not cook a lot. She only made herself a simple plate of spaghetti, then came out with the plate in her hands.When she saw Zachary, she merely glanced at him before ignoring his presence and went to the table. She sat down and started eating.Zachary was worried she would refuse to eat or drink because she was angry.When he saw how healthy her appetite was, and how she could eat such a large plate of spaghetti with relish, he felt conflicted.He sat down at the dining table and opened his mouth. “Seren...”“Shut up! Don’t affect my appetite.”Zachary obediently shut his trap after being yelled at by his wife.He was at fault, so he lowered his ego and pride.As he watched her eat, he felt hungry too.However, he did not dare to leave. He was afraid she would take the opportunity to slip away if he did.He could only endu
“I didn’t even know you were from a rich family! What would I want from you? When we fought for the first time, I already told you that I have motives. I saw you had a house for me to live in, so I didn’t have to rent a house. I saw you were mature and steady with a stable job, so my sister would be satisfied and assured.”Zachary said bitterly, “Seren, I know you married me to reassure your sister, not because you wanted my money or me. It was a misunderstanding on my part. I was wrong.“I’m sorry, Seren. You can beat me or scold me if you want. Since I’ve done something wrong, I should be punished. You can punish me however you want.”He would not deny the accusations.Serenity glared at him.“At first, I hid my identity to test your character. Nana insisted that I marry you, but I wanted to know if you were a person worth spending the rest of my life with. That’s why I hid my identity and lived with you like an ordinary person.“As time passed, I’ve come to realize that you we
Zachary had a feeling that if he let her go and allowed her to leave this villa, it would be difficult for him to see her again.He knew her temperament.“Let me go, Zachary York! I don’t want to talk to you right now. I don’t even want to look at you!”When Zachary held onto her, Serenity lowered her head and bit the back of his hand. However, he still refused to let go. She was so angry that she flailed wildly at him. She was incredibly agitated.Zachary forcefully pressed her frenzied being into his arms. He bowed his head and sealed her mouth, trying to soothe her with a gentle kiss.However, she bit his lip so hard that he tasted blood.Left with no choice, Zachary landed a rabbit punch to knock her out. He then wrapped his arms around her limp body.He wiped the blood on his mouth, bent down to pick the unconscious Serenity up, and headed upstairs.After placing her in bed, he sat by her and looked at her.He knew she would be angry, but he did not expect her to react vi
“Don’t panic, Zack. I’ll go over there right now. Where are you?”Grandma May calmed Zachary’s emotions.The old woman undeniably played a part in how the couple ended up now.Zachary’s tone softened a little after yelling. He said, “It won’t help even if you come, Nana. We all lied to Seren. All of us are liars to her. When she sees any of us, all she’ll remember is that we deceived her for months.”Grandma May sighed and said, “That’s why I told you... In that case, you think of a way to coax Seren. If you can’t, then let her calm down for a few days. Don’t push her too hard...”“I won’t let her out of my sight!”Zachary’s domineering character was at full blast.Grandma May was speechless. In the end, she said nothing and quietly hung up the phone. At the same time, she offered a few words of prayer for her grandson in her heart. His bad temper had not changed. It would not be that easy if he wanted to make up with Serenity.After being hung up on by his nana, Zachary called
“Seren.”Zachary saw her merely looking at him without speaking and called out anxiously, “Are you okay?”Did he use too much force?Did he damage her?“Zachary York!”Serenity snapped back to her senses and yelled his name through gnashed teeth. She sat up and pounced on him like a ferocious lion, grabbing his collar with one hand and chopping the back of his neck with the other.She screamed furiously, “You jerk! You b*stard! How could you have knocked me out?!”Her neck hurt like hell!This b*stard said that he loved her. Was knocking her out and giving her physical pain his way of showing that?Screw him! She would not believe a single word he said. She lived in the lies he weaved for the past four months. Her trust in him had dropped to the negatives!“Seren, Seren.”Zachary did not let Serenity chop his neck for fear that she would really knock him out and run away.When she vented some of her anger, he forcefully took her into his arms like before and hugged her tigh
“This is your true personality. You’re always self-centered and lord over everything. You’re overbearing, arrogant, egotistical, and even paranoid!”Serenity’s words were full of mockery.That was Zachary’s character.He behaved the same way at the beginning of their marriage. Even if he pretended to be an ordinary person, his mannerisms were ingrained in him and could not be changed.It was only after the couple’s feelings warmed up and they had two conflicts that his overbearing self improved slightly.Now, he revealed his true colors again.It was suffocating to be with a Zachary York like that.That was especially true for Serenity, a woman who liked her independence. If she had a conflict with a man like Zachary, the fight would escalate and only worsen.Zachary clearly wanted to calm Serenity down, but he kept making mistakes that exacerbated his case, causing her anger to soar even higher. There was no way to extinguish the fury now.“Seren...”Zachary let her go and i
Serenity walked out of the room.Zachary followed suit. He kept silent and walked behind her without making a peep.She went downstairs, and he followed her downstairs.She went outside, and he followed her outside.In short, he was like her shadow now.Serenity walked up to the gate of the villa and tried to open the side gate but found it locked.Turning around, she looked at him and coldly ordered, “Give me the keys.”Brandt, one of the bodyguards, and the other servants followed at a distance. No one dared come forward to talk to them.They all saw how furious Serenity was.Even her words were like ice.Zachary was now her shadow.Zachary took out the key, but instead of giving it to her, he raised his hand and flung it far over and out of the gate.He shrugged and said, “I don’t have the keys.”Serenity wanted to explode from anger.She really wanted to grab him by the collar and give him a good beating.She looked at Brandt and the others.Brandt quickly said, “Do
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa